Top 10 Most Famous Mafia Executions and Mob Hits

Famous mob hits have shaped organized crime history, frequently involving high-ranking members who were executed in public or at home. Key examples are included here, each chosen based on fame and notoriety. Here are some of the most famous and impactful mob hits that received high-profile media coverage.

1. Bugsy Siegel

   

   He received the Moe Greene Special, shot clean through the eye. This is referenced in The Godfather with Moe Greene, who is based on Bugsy, and Brendan Filone in The Sopranos, who also is a double reference to Moe Greene with the bullet through the eye and Frank Pentangeli due to the bathtub execution.

   Bugsy was executed while holding his newspaper and riddled with bullets, and one bullet nailed his eye. He was shot on the sofa in Virginia Hill's Beverly Hills, California mansion.

2. Carmine Galante

   

   He was executed with multiple shots, but one went clean through the eye. He still had the cigar in his mouth after being felled.

   He was shot in the rear patio of Joe and Mary's Restaurant in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn.

3. Paul Castellano

   

   He was executed when exiting the vehicle in front of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan.

4. Albert Anastasia

   

   He was killed in a barber shop hit in the Park Sheraton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

5. Angelo Bruno

   

   He died from a shotgun blast from behind while in a vehicle in South Philadelphia.

6. Joe Masseria

   

   He was gunned down in the Nuova Villa Tammaro restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn, still holding the ace of spades in his hand.

7. Jack McGurn

   

   He was gunned down in the Avenue Recreation Bowling Alley in Chicago. He was killed by multiple gunshots to the head and back. The slaying occurred on the seventh anniversary of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

   McGurn's assassins tossed a Valentine card with a prophetic poem near his body: "You've lost your job, you've lost your dough, your jewels and cars and handsome houses, but things could still be worse you know. At least you haven't lost your trousers!"

8. Salvatore Maranzano

   

   He was stabbed and shot in his Manhattan office.

9. Sam Giancana

   

   He was shot in the basement kitchen of his Oak Park, Illinois home. He was shot seven times in the head and neck with a .22-caliber pistol while cooking.

10. Joe Gallo

    

    He was shot at Umberto's Clam House in Little Italy, New York. After being hit by gunfire inside the restaurant, he knocked over a table, staggered to the front door, and collapsed on the street sidewalk.